Tanner McEvoy still gets questions about a contingency plan if he isn't the University of Wisconsin football team's starting quarterback.

Blame that on the junior playing so well at safety last season after getting thrown into the position after the season started.

McEvoy was asked yet again this week if going back to quarterback is a permanent move. He left little doubt: It's quarterback or bust for the former junior college transfer.

"That's what we discussed," McEvoy said of the move from safety to quarterback. "I want to play quarterback and right now I'm playing quarterback. Until they say otherwise, that's what I'm sticking with."

With the decision this week to shut down junior Joel Stave, the returning starter, due to lingering pain in the right shoulder he injured in the Capital One Bowl, McEvoy has taken over the No. 1 spot for now.

Stave and McEvoy came into the final week of the spring as 1A and 1B, according to UW coach Gary Andersen, with sophomore Bart Houston battling for third.

McEvoy has three practices this week -- Tuesday, today and the spring game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium -- to state his case before Stave hopes to return for the start of summer workouts.

During a Big Ten Conference teleconference on Wednesday, Andersen expressed some concern over Stave's lingering injury.

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Since being fully cleared after the return from spring break a little more than two weeks ago, Stave has experienced pain on some throws.

"It's a concern, it's an issue," said Andersen, who listed the level of concern in the "moderate" range. "That's the reason for putting (Stave) out these last three practices, to try and get a jump on the rehab as we move forward.

"The challenge is to truly identify the situation and then start the rehab process. I didn't want to wait a week and have him go out there and keep doing the same things."

While fans have questioned Stave's decision not to slide on the play when he was injured in the bowl game, no one questions his toughness.

"We've all seen him play a lot of games, he's a tough-minded kid," Andersen said. "We've got to get him as close to 100 percent (as possible). It's continually creating competition and he wants to get out there and fight in that competition, because it is a competition at that spot, just like every position we have."

McEvoy blames himself for not grasping the offense more quickly when he first arrived last summer. "I wasn't as prepared as I should have been," he said. "I've learned the offense a lot better."

Not surprisingly, McEvoy is more comfortable the second time around. He got limited work at quarterback during bowl practices and has been at the position full time since the bowl game.

"Playing safety helped but now he's played quarterback all spring," Andersen said. "He's had 13 practices now and he's got two more to go and he's getting the majority of the reps with the ones and you can see him continue to grow and blossom.

"He makes plays, he's a threat with his feet. The more he learns about the offense, the better he's going to be. You get some guys back there that are athletic, he causes some issues for people."

The coaching staff has never hid its preference for a dual-threat quarterback, although Stave's experience can't be discounted. He has started 19 games the past two seasons, including all 13 last year.

One of the things McEvoy has admittedly struggled with recently is the urge to leave the pocket too soon and start running.

"Recently, I don't know why, I've kind of had happy feet back in the pocket," he said. "The next couple days I'm really going to focus on really staying in there, taking my steps and throwing the ball -- and run it when I really need to run it, when things break down."

The passing game has not shown much consistency this spring, regardless of who is at quarterback. Injuries that decimated the wide receiver group have not helped.

McEvoy would love to make a strong impression in the spring game, although the format has been modified due to the injuries.

Andersen said the first half will consist of "thud" running drills with junior Melvin Gordon and sophomore Corey Clement, which means they will be hit but not tackled.

After a break, the second half will consist of two quarters of a regular scrimmage.

"It's just another practice, really, just the fans can come out and see," McEvoy said. "We've got two practices left, including the spring game. I want to finish strong because that's what any competitor wants to do."